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MESOPOTAMIA

An storytime presented by PAULA NUÑEZ ORTIZ your lovely teacher of social studies.

Objective: Understand the principal characteristics of Mesopotamia.

character counts: Responsibility

Mesopotamia

• The name mean land between rivers.

• It describes an ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the Middle East.

• Some of the world’s first civilizations developed in Mesopotamia. 

Multiple Choice

What does Mesopotamia mean ?

• It is just a name

• River

• The Tigris and the Euphrates

• The land between Rivers

The Sumer/Sumerians Civilization

• The earliest known civilization started in southern Mesopotamia in about 4500 BCE.

• The people of Sumer found that the soil was good for growing crops. 

• Because there was little rain, the people built irrigation systems to carry water from the rivers to their fields

Multiple Select

What was the name of the first civilization built in Mesopotamia?

• Akkadians

• Babylonians

• Sumerians

• I don´t know

FIRST WRITING SYSTEM

• After 4000 BCE. the world’s first cities began in Sumer. Sumerian cities included Kish, Uruk, Ur, and Lagash. In about 3000 BCE

• the Sumerians created the world’s first writing system, called cuneiform.

Multiple Choice

What was the name of the first writing system ?

• Cuneiform

• alphabet

• hieroglyphics

Religion and Gods

• The Ancient Sumerians worshipped many different gods and goddesses. They thought that the gods influenced much of what happened to them in their lives.

• Anu - Sometimes called An, Anu was the god of the heavens and king of the gods. The city associated with Anu was Uruk.

• Enlil - The god of air, wind, and storms, Enlil held the Tablets of Destiny. These tablets gave him control over the fate of man and made him very powerful.

Fill in the Blanks

Name two important Gods for Sumerians

ZIGGURATS

• At the center of each major city in Mesopotamia was a large structure called a ziggurat.

• The ziggurat was built to honor the main god of the city. The tradition of building a ziggurat was started by the Sumerians.

Multiple Choice

What was the principal function of the ziggurats ?

• For the Kings

• Honor the Gods

SOCIAL CLASSES

• These classes were:

• The King and Nobility: a special relationship with the gods 

• The Priests and Priestesses

• The Upper Class: Merchants

• the Lower Class

• The Slaves.

Multiple Choice

Who was at the top of the social class pyramid ?

• slaves

• merchants

• priest

• king